The present invention relates to novel compounds which possess useful odor properties and, more particularly, it concerns a tertiary alcohol derived from campholenic aldehyde and the odor of which is of the sandalwood type.
The prior art in perfumery is rich in examples of compounds having a sandalwood odor. Nevertheless, the sandalwood-type odor still constitutes a fragrance field wherein the reasearch of new compounds remains very active. This results from the fact that natural sandalwood essential oil is a much appreciated perfuming ingredient, but very expensive and available in limited quantities. In addition, the reproduction of the odor of the natural ingredient is extremely difficult, even by admixture of known synthetic products. It is, in fact, observed that every prior art compound which is capable of imparting a sandalwood note to the compositions into which it is incorporated, only provides, on its own, a contribution towards the reproduction of one or the other of the particular characters of natural sandalwood oil, and this only to a certain extent. None of these compounds possesses an odor identical to that of any other and each of them can find a very specific use in perfumery, thus enriching the perfumer's palette in the domain of the sandalwood notes.
On the other hand, in spite of the rules established by a variety of researchers in order to define the relationship between the molecular structure and the sandalwood-type odor of the known compounds, rules designed to provide useful tools towards predicting the olfactive qualities of novel compounds on the basis of their molecular structure [see, for example, E. J. Brunke and E. Klein, Essential Oils, Ed. B. D. Mookherjee and C. J. Mussinan, page 83 and following, Allured Publishing Corp. (1981); R. E. Naipawer et al., ibid., page 105 and following; J. G. Witteveen et al., Recl. Trav. Chim. Pays-Bas 106, 29 (1987)], there can be no doubt that such rules establish structural requirements that, while seemingly essential, are by no means sufficient to make it possible to predict that a given molecular structure will imply, with certainty, a sandalwood odor, or, moreover, an odor of desirable quality, intensity and tenacity [see for example, J. G. Witteveen, cited reference, or yet, U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,341].
Therefore, the search for new compounds with sandalwood odor is evermore of actuality and the number of patents granted heretofore in this field, patents which recognize not only the novelty but also the inventive step of compounds whose structure is sometimes almost identical to that of prior known compounds, is a sure measure of the importance assigned to the discovery of new compounds of this type, the odor properties of which are undoubtedly advantageous over those of the previously described compounds.
The present invention provides a new solution to this problem.